


Panic Room

by abrogxte



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: Alternate Universe, Class Trials, Crossover, False Memories, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, killing game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-23 11:42:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18549067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abrogxte/pseuds/abrogxte
Summary: An endless tunnel of pitch darkness. Can’t see anything, can’t hear any sounds, not even footsteps. There’s nowhere to look, nowhere to go to, just walking, running, and falling aimlessly. Time doesn’t seem to exist inside this tunnel, nothing seems to exist. Only him. Only a lonely soul named Josuke Higashikata.





	1. Cheap Trick Part 1

**Cheap Trick Part 1**  

 

An endless tunnel of pitch darkness. Can’t see anything, can’t hear any sounds, not even footsteps. There’s nowhere to look, nowhere to go to, just walking, running, and falling aimlessly. Where is the exit? Where was the starting point of this tunnel? It seems to stretch longer than the twin tunnel. The silence is deafening, it can drive anyone crazy. Time doesn’t seem to exist inside this tunnel, nothing seems to exist. Only him. Only a lonely soul named Josuke Higashikata. He can’t feel any part of his body: not his hands, not his legs, but he can sense himself moving, falling on his feet, and getting back up again. He doesn’t feel any form of pain, which is surprising and not; maybe he’s numb? He can’t tell, he really is unable to tell.

How long has it been since he had started walking? When he came to, he can already feel himself moving. Is this death? Did he die somewhere? If so, how and when? Did his mother and his grandfather hear of the news? Did anyone attend to his funeral? Josuke has so many questions, he doubts a _yes and no_ answer would be able to sate his curiosity and his bothered mind. He doesn’t seem to stop walking, however, the more he walks, the more he wonders if he’s walking towards the light or if there is something approaching him. Closer and closer and closer it comes; slow at first, but gradually picking up speed. Before he knew it, a loud horn cuts through the mad silence and he feels the impact of being hit by a truck.

The sensation is bizarre, he didn’t even get to feel the pain before his mind went blank. It wasn’t too fast, the speed of that truck, but somehow Josuke didn’t have reflexes quick enough to evade that accident. There it goes again, the endless loop, except there’s light above him and he keeps falling into an abyss of eternal darkness. This time, he can feel the gravity weighing him down, he can feel the wind past his body, ruining his hair. This time, he can feel the dread, wondering of when he will fall to the cold, hard ground. He’s ultimately scared, falling off an endless gravity pull. His heart is pounding hard against his ribcage, as if aware of his imminent death, his eyes are watering, salty teardrops rising upwards to the air. The more he waits, the more he gets anxious, almost impatient to meet his death. How hard will he hit the ground? Hard enough to crush him to pulp? The light from above him grows more and more distant the farther gravity pulls him and the farther he is, the colder he feels. The temperature is dropping alarmingly quick, he can feel frostbite in his system.

_“You know too much.”_

All of a sudden, he hears that voice ring in his head. It’s an awfully familiar voice, but he can’t put a finger as to who owns such a voice. Before he could do so much as to turn his head and look for the owner, he hits the ground. And then he wakes up.

* * *

 

Josuke Higashikata’s body is overcome with immense pain that it woke him up. He opens his eyes begrudgingly, a groan past his slightly chapped lips. His throat feels incredulously dry, as if he hasn’t drank in two weeks or more. Where is he, anyway? Sitting up, he realizes he’s in a classroom. Did he fall asleep in class? Oh, but it seems like he has slept for too long; he’s the only one left in the room. Yawning dryly, he fails to know the actual time for his wristwatch is nowhere to be seen, and the windows are barricaded with thick steel plates; removing it would take a long time. He inhales, deeming the task to be fruitless and deciding to roam around the room until he can find something that makes sense. Questions rise further when he notices a folded paper sitting atop the teacher’s table quietly and with curiosity fueling his mind, he walks to the table and takes it, unfolding it, and reading its contents.

_Greetings, Josuke Higashikata!_

_You must be confused and conflicted, but not to worry, there are others in this place who can help you leave safely._

_There is an assembly at exactly 8 in the morning in the gymnasium._

_Do not be late, otherwise there will be a corresponding punishment._

_I look forward to meeting you there._

_-Cheap Trick_

Cheap Trick? What kind of name is that? Josuke would question the embossed name of the one who sent the letter, but upon seeing the wall clock above him (that he had _not_ noticed beforehand), he dashes out of the classroom, realizing there is not a single direction of where the gymnasium is. In the end, he spends a good five minutes of wandering around just to find the venue of the assembly. Without a moment’s hesitation, he pushes the double doors, and walks inside.

“...”

Like what is said in the letter, there are people in the enormous space with him now, making him feel less anxious about his current predicament. He just realizes that he didn’t know his name until he read it on a paper. _Josuke Higashikata…_ Is that his name?


	2. Cheap Trick Part 2

**Cheap Trick Part 2**

 

 

The sound of the doors opening had every heads turn to look and Josuke suddenly feels anxious again. When did he feel such anxiety just by being stared at? For some reason, he feels as if he used to give it little to no care. Walking inside the room, he makes himself a little comfortable by looking away and distracting himself from the stares he's been getting. He wonders if they're in the same page as him, not knowing who they are, waking up in a room, alone, and feeling as if they've died sometime before. Surely, he's not the only one sensing the odd miasma surrounding them, right? He's probably not the only one, judging by the estranged looks in their eyes as well.

“You're probably the last one.” He hears a voice behind him, causing him to turn around in a shift of slight panic. Josuke looks from left to right, yet he sees no one, well, until he looked down. He sees a man about half his height with striking silver locks styled neatly yet at the same time messily. His eyes are a beautiful color of electric blue, giving him the impression of a smart and observant person. Had it not been for his height, he would have been seen as a heartthrob in the school he attends to. He's wearing a school uniform colored a darker shade of moss green; he must be from another school. Josuke looks around again and then back at the other male, reluctantly nodding his head, “I suppose so…” He says quietly, avoiding gazes. There it is again, the feeling as if he never had these kinds of habits before. “What's going on, though? I'm really confused.”

“That's what I've been trying to know, too.” The blue-eyed students says with a hand on his chin. “When I arrived here, there are about a dozen of them here already, all without an idea why they're here apart from an _assembly_ that will commence at eight in the morning—oh, by the way, my name is Koichi Hirose. And you are?” Josuke is a bit taken aback by the sudden talkativeness of this Koichi person, though he supposes he should feel comfortable around him. Something tells him they have had a talk like this before, he just really don't know if it's true. “I'm Josuke. Josuke Higashikata… or, at least that's what I've been told in the letter _Cheap Trick_ had placed in the room I woke up on.”

“Oh, so you also received a similar letter?” Josuke nods at that, his gaze rising up from Koichi and to the other people around him. They stopped staring at him, at least, that's good. “I asked everyone around and they seem to have received the same letter with their names written on it. However, prior to actually reading the letter, personally, I had no idea if I even have had a name.” So, it's not just Josuke himself. Somehow, it gives him a particular sense of relief to know that he's not the only one left in the dark. As the two talk more, a sound from the speakers begin ringing so loud that they all had to cover their ears. Josuke looks up at the speakers, wondering what is happening now, until he hears a voice.

_“Test, hello. Sound check! ABC, 123.”_

Their heads turn to look around, narrowed eyes and curious minds stuck in a peculiar situation with seemingly no way out unless given orders and instructions. While they’re busy looking around, they didn’t notice the figure seated with his back against them, a doll hanging on him. “Hey, over here, stupid!” At that voice, they’ve finally located the source of the owner. “Where have you been looking, L-O-L? I’m right here, right here!” The annoyingly enthusiastic yet chilling voice haunt the gymnasium, giving chills in each and everyone’s spines. Josuke attempts to speak, yet no voice comes out of his mouth, so Koichi does the talking instead. When did he feel such incompetence, such inferiority in his body and why does he feel like he’s never like this before? When was that before? How long had that before been? All this thinking had gotten him a small migraine, but he knows he’s bound to feel so much worse later.

“Who are you?” Koichi asks, his electric blue eyes shining like lightning on a stormy night. He gazes up at the figure on the center of the platform in front of them. The silver-haired boy doesn’t waste time in picking up pieces, “Are you the one who sent us the letter? Are you _Cheap Trick?_ ” The doll-like creature on the man’s back stares at Koichi for a moment before his lips, a horrifying gash that seems to be carelessly cut open with a pair of scissors, turn into a wide grin, showing an empty mouth inside, nothing but rusty metal that looks like teeth. His eyes are beady and beastly, like he can see the soul of a person in just one look. The creature is small, small enough to fit the entire back of the person, but he emits such a dangerous aura that Josuke and the others can feel very apparently.

“Oh~? Aren’t you a keen one?” Cheap Trick says bemusedly, nodding his head and tightening his hold against the person’s neck, slightly choking him. “Yes, you’re right! I go by many names, but I am known by everyone as _Cheap Trick!_ I am the one who sent you that letter and your instructor. You want to get out of this place right?”

“Where are we, even?” The woman with the ginger hair and amber-colored eyes ask, her voice ringing through the silence and cutting through Cheap Trick’s own. “This looks like a high school building… Why are we even here in the first place?” Cheap Trick ponders to that question, though after a while he shakes his head and says, “I can’t understand you, can you speak louder or not speak at all? Gh, how troublesome.” The woman grits her teeth, ready to lunge towards the other when a man about her age stops her, and she obeys. “Well, since this is your first time, I’ll go out of my way to explain everything the best I can, since apparently, not everyone in this batch is smart.” Then he shoots the lady a look.

“You’re in _Budogaoka School_ in the High School campus.” He begins, his lips (can Josuke even call it that, honestly?) pressing in a thin line as he thinks more and more. “And you’re trapped in here because of a situation. I won’t tell the situation yet, of course, but spoiler alert! It has something to do with _the end of the world._ ” The last few words have everyone gasping audibly and muttering loudly to themselves, even Josuke is taken aback by the suddenness of it. The end of the world? He didn’t think it’d be sooner. “The end of the world? Explain yourself.” A man with a sling bag asks, his deep green eyes glaring at Cheap Trick. “Is this some kind of bullshit?” “Unfortunately, no!” Cheap Trick responds, “It’s true. You are trapped inside this haven, sheltering you from the end of the world. Don’t believe it? Not my problem.’

“He must be joking.” Some begins to say, to which he responds with, “Do you want to get out so you can see for yourselves?” The same woman with the ginger hair groans aloud and nods her head, saying, “Of-fucking-course we want to! Why would we even get ourselves trapped in this school? The end of the world? Utter bullshit.”

“Isn’t it?” Cheap Trick asks, nodding his head, “Oh, but do you want to get out? You can get out, alright, but you have to abide by one simple rule.” Josuke steps forward, an eyebrow raised upon his gentle features. He then asks, “And what is this _simple_ rule?” There it goes again, that chilling grin on the stranger’s mouth. He laughs a bit before saying out loud, his voice drowning everyone in five words:

“You have to kill someone.”

For a solid two minutes, the place is eerily quiet. Josuke looks around: everyone is frozen in their spots, eyes dilated, disbelief in their facial expressions. He heard it and he couldn’t believe it either. Kill someone? How could he do a thing like that? Cheap Trick laughs moments later, one hand around the man and the other on his small stomach, “What, why are you all looking like you’ve seen a ghost?”

“Kill someone? T-This…” The woman stammers out, her breathing uneven. “I-I swear to fucking god, if this is some elaborate p--” “Elaborate prank?” Cheap Trick asks, tilting his head to the side, his beady eyes glinting deviously, giving everyone another wave of fear and shivers, “But why would this be an elaborate prank? Do you think I’ll waste my time here babysitting people like you? Fuck no. If you want to get out, you have to kill someone.”

“It could be by anything. If you want to beat them ‘till they’re dead, go ahead. Burn them, make them explode, pull their intestines out, pluck their eyes out of their sockets, cut them in half with a chainsaw! Anything works as long as you put yourself first.” Josuke swallows, his body trembling violently, yet these people don’t seem to realize he’s shaking. “If you’re selfless, then you’ll be the first one to die. In this place, there’s no heaven, hell, or purgatory. All there is in this place is pure bloodlust and selfishness. Will you be selfish enough to be able to kill someone just to get yourself to safety? Will you let your allies turn into enemies? This is a game of choices and you only have one chance of failing.” The more Cheap Trick talks about this certain rule, the more Koichi wants to throw up. Kill someone? Choose yourself over others? How can he do such a thing?

“Oh, by the way, check your pockets.” At that, everyone stirs from their trances and does as told, eeling for their pockets and  fishing out a cellular device in unison. Josuke takes out his, not even aware that such a device is in his pocket all this time. “Those are exclusively  yours and it contains all the information you need to know about yourself such as your name, your age, your… uh, I don’t know, just some stuff I’ve whipped up just for you all. That way, it won’t be hard to kill someone--  I mean, they probably have their likes and dislikes in that phone, too; you can _certainly_ use that for your own advantage!” While Cheap Trick explains the features of the device, Josuke unlocks the phone and the first thing that greeted him was his picture and his name: _Josuke Higashikata._

Apparently, he’s a first year high school student at _Budogaoka_ High School, and that he’s 16 years old. He has a mother named Tomoko Higashikata, an unknown father, and a grandfather named Ryohei.  He stands at a hundred and eighty centimeters and weighs about a hundred and eighty-one pounds. His eye color is a shade of purple and blue and apparently, he’s scared of reptiles. His hobbies include watching TV, playing video games, and listening to music… which aren’t really good hobbies. As he reads more of himself, one thing catches his eyes: the _Ultimate talent._

“What?” Cheap Trick stops talking because he noticed Josuke raise his hand. Josuke turns from his phone to the creature on the platform, “What is this _Ultimate talent_ that is written here?” Cheap Trick is dumbfounded for a solid minute before his eyes widen a bit in recognition, “Ah, _that!_ ”

“ _Ultimate talents_ are, well, your talents… except they’re not really something that’s ordinary like a normal teacher of a school or a normal dentist in a clinic; these talents are your ultimate key to succession.” He explains, “Get me? You’re not just an ordinary student, you’re _gifted_ with something everyone would want to get their hands on. With that talent of yours, you can easily admit yourself in schools and universities you wish to study in, get the job you want without doing anything other than submit your resume. With your _ultimate talent,_ you can do whatever the fuck you want. That’s your greatest advantage against everyone else; your talent makes you impeccably untouchable.”

“Anyway, there are fives floors of this building,” Cheap Trick then changes the subject back to the school building, but Josuke isn’t listening anymore, he’s just staring at the _Ultimate talent_ title displayed on his phone screen right now.

_Ultimate Nurse._

What exactly can he do?


	3. Cheap Trick Part 3

**Cheap Trick Part 3**

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me! Kill someone?  That’s fucking insane, there’s no way I can do that!” A man with a tattoo on his chin exclaims after they’ve been explained everything they need to know. Cheap Trick looks annoyed already, replying to him, “This again? I thought I already told you I am serious when I said you have to kill someone if you want to  _ graduate  _ from this school. Don’t believe me? Not my problem.” 

“Man, you’re all exhausting to be around with.” The doll-like creature says with a drag in his tone, like a child that’s been impatient and spoiled enough. Josuke finds that kind of voice to be unpleasant to the ears. “Um, excuse me.” Their heads turn to the side of the gym where a woman with gorgeous, wavy black hair stand by, her hand raising in attempts to get everyone’s attention. Her other hand holds her phone, a curious look in her eyes, “There are another set of rules in this phone, it mainly tackles about curfew, but it doesn’t say anything about the limitations of killing. So, you said that we have to kill someone in order to get out of this place,” Something about her voice is haunting to Josuke, as if he knows what she’s going to say next. He dreads for it, and yet he doesn’t stop her. “Does that mean it doesn’t matter if I kill everyone tonight while they sleep?”

“Hey, what the  _ fuck _ .” Says the guy next to her with a school uniform that’s the same as Josuke’s, only it has the dollar sign design and the  _ billion  _ word on the sleeves. “What the fuck are you implying? You can kill me before I kill you? Bullshit, I can take you on right now!” “God, you’re so dumb, I’m just asking.” The girl replies to him and turns away, crossing her arms with both eyebrows arched, anticipating a reply. “So? What are you going to do about it? Aren’t you  trapping us here and having us kill each other here for shits and giggles? If I kill everyone tonight, where’s the fucking fun in that?” 

Surprisingly, Cheap Trick didn’t seem to think that part through and says, “Fuck, you’re right. Okay, fine, I’m adding a rule that  _ you can only kill a maximum of two people _ .” The girl seems satisfied by that answer as the new rule popped up in the phone provided to them. The guy next to her moves away a little bit, now wary of her eerie presence. After the rules have been made clear and established (in a not-so correct way, because Cheap Trick is an asshole), the creature finally disappeared off into somewhere Josuke has no idea of. Surely, they can’t bring themselves to kill each other, right?

“Have you met everyone yet, Josuke?” Koichi asks beside him, making him turn. Being the last one to arrive, of course it’s a given that he  _ does not  _ know anyone besides him. “No, I haven’t.” He replies, looking around at the chatting people. “Would you introduce them to me, then?” Koichi looks idly at the students his age, closing his eyes with a sigh, “I don’t think that’s necessary; they’re approaching you.” JUst the sound of that had Josuke feeling quite queasy. There’s still that annoying feeling in the pit of his stomach, but for now he’s focused on socializing. 

“Who are you?” The blond man from before said, his droopy yet beautiful purple eyes glinting with forced interest and exhaustion. Josuke pretends to be interested as well, introducing himself. “My name is Josuke Higashikata… um, I’m the Ultimate Nurse, I guess.” The forced interest in the latter’s eyes seem to dissolve in an instant, though particles of it are still visible (if you’re keen enough to notice), “Oh, a nurse? I guess in an environment like this, it might become handy. I’m Yoshikage Kira, I’m the Ultimate Businessman, or so it says here.” After that, everyone else seem to just warm up to Josuke, introducing themselves to him; well, it’s one thing to be glad about, at least he doesn’t  have to embarrass himself in front of everyone if they treated him rudely.

“I’m Mikitaka Hazekura.” Says the last one with the nose chain and flowing, pale yellow hair. His eyes are a gorgeous emerald green, twinkling like it represents the whole universe inside. His smile is warm and welcoming and when he held out his hand, Josuke subconsciously took and shook it. “I’m the Ultimate Pilot. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Josuke Higashikata.” Josuke is a bit intimidated by the way he talks, like he’s a robot reading a book, but he pushes that aside and replies, “Yeah, same to you, Mikitaka.” 

“I still can’t believe we have to kill each other…” Reimi says with concern laced in her voice. She’s the only one who doesn’t have an Ultimate title in her phone, which is a bit weird since she never spoke about it during the assembly. Maybe she didn’t see it important? Josuke doesn’t really know. “I can’t lay a finger with the intention to kill, not at all!” Aya Tsuji, the Ultimate Model, agrees with her with a nod and a hand on her shoulder. Everyone is against it, Josuke knows that, but he also is aware of the fact that sooner or later, someone will be roped in the madness and kill someone. Being trapped in an establishment like this without communication from the outside world can drive anyone crazy, even when they have company. It’s only a matter of time, and they’re still yet to know what happens after someone dies.

“Anyway, for now we should just check what else is in this building.” Terunosuke Miyamoto says, a stern look on his face as he heads for the double doors of the gymnasium. If Josuke remembers correctly, Terunosuke introduced himself as the Ultimate Psychologist. Maybe he can help somehow in the near future? He hopes so. “There is no reason to panic, really. Cheap Trick did say there are five floors in this building, so we should see what floors are available to go to, things like that. Then, we can devise some kind of plan to prevent whatever is going to happen.” Okuyasu lets out an amused sound after that, whispering something along the lines of Terunosuke being the leader or something Josuke didn’t pay any attention to. “It’s better if we go in pairs or groups, so we can explore around more thoroughly, don’t you think? Should I assign or are you fine on your own--”

“Of course I’m fine on my own.” A voice from behind them speaks, making them look over the shoulders; it’s Rohan Kishibe, the prodigy artist. Josuke had seen his exhibits before, but he never had enough money to pay for the ticket, he just knows Rohan is extremely popular and rich because of his extraordinary talent when it comes to art. “Who knows, maybe if we go in pairs or in groups, someone will kill another out of desperation. I, Rohan Kishibe, am completely fine on my own. I don’t need anyone to accompany me unless they plot some awful scheme against me.”

“Wow, aren’t you rude--”

“ _ Rude? _ Tell me, at what part am I rude?” He asks, raising an eyebrow as he crosses his arms, standing straight. “I’m just being realistic. Just right now, we had just witnessed a doll-like figure telling us that if we want to get out of this place, we have to kill someone. Desperation works in awful ways, I know so, and being in a tight predicament like this, it’s not long before someone plots something against me or against another person. Why are you all so easy to trust each other, you don’t even know who you were until you’ve read the letter Cheap Trick sent you.” As much as Josuke would love to oppose to that matter, he knows Rohan is right in more than one angle. He’s not being rude, he’s not being pessimistic either; he’s purely being realistic and honestly, reality is frightening to accept. 

“Maybe you think I’m being rude because you neither want to accept nor acknowledge the fact that we have to kill someone.” He continues on, a bitter smile on his face. No one is trying to stop him from talking, no one is trying to shut him up, because they all know he’s right. “You don’t want to acknowledge that sooner or later, someone will be killed, that in this new circle of hell, it’s kill or be killed. You don’t want to acknowledge that, so you think I’m rude. But you know what? That’s not my problem. If you want to think that we can last however long alive and well because we  _ trust  _ each other, then go ahead and think that way. Set your mind like that and it will be your death.” Rohan then walks ahead of them, past Terunosuke, and reaches for the doorknobs, “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going now.” And he leaves.

* * *

Exploring the building made everyone realize that they can only roam around the ground floor for now. The main entrance of the school is blocked with a vault-like door, thicker than the steel plates on the windows, and it has a password key on the side. Since no one knows the password, no one bothered to pry it open. “I passed by a lobby earlier while I was on my way here,” Josuke remembers Terunosuke say before they part ways to investigate the areas, “We should meet there and file our reports once we’re done with exploring.”

“Aya Tsuji and I found a fully-equipped kitchen, the pantry included.” Antonio Trussardi states as they finally begin with the report. “While we were looking around, Cheap Trick appeared somewhere and explained that everything in the kitchen is the latest technology.” He pauses for a bit then, giving Aya the floor to speak. She clears her throat a bit, then she says in her softest, quietest voice, “I asked about the pantry since we don’t know how long we’ll be staying here. Cheap Trick said that the pantry is always re-stocked during nighttime, right after bedtime, so there’s no need to worry about the food and the ingredients. There’s no problem with the food supply.” Terunosuke nods in appreciation to the report, “The next one?”

Akira raises his hand and says, “I found a dormitory at the east wing of the ground floor. There are a total of… fifteen rooms, each with their respective owners. The keys are beside the door as well. There are no spare keys and I kinda understand why. It’s also said in the school handbook that students aren’t allowed to lose their keys or give it to someone else, thus exchanging rooms will be out of the question and has a corresponding punishment.” 

“I didn’t go to any room nor stayed for too long in one place, but,” Koichi says right after a short moment of silence, raising his hand so each eyes would be on him, “I noticed that there are a lot of surveillance cameras placed around the whole ground floor. If that’s the case, then there’s no doubt that there will be surveillance cameras on each of the rooms in the dormitory. However, when I met with Mikitaka in the bathhouse, there aren’t any surveillance cameras in there, for obvious reasons, of course.” “That’s a well-appreciated report, Koichi.” Terunosuke responds and turns to the other students, “Are there any more reports regarding the ground floor?” 

* * *

“Boring, boring, boring, utterly  _ boring! _ ” Lunchtime is disrupted by Cheap Trick’s voice through the speakers. He sounds extremely irritated for some reason the students really didn’t want to know. Nonetheless, no one seems to acknowledge his presence at all and continued to enjoy Antonio’s cooking, which is really amazing, as expected of an Italian chef like him. “Are you even listening!? Hey! I said listen to me! Listen!!” Still, no one gives a shit.

“Ugh, you young ones are really fucking annoying!” Cheap Trick says with a groan as he finally appears, still on the back of an unknown man. For some reason, no matter what, they can’t see the man’s face. He makes the human sit down on the floor while he pouts. “It’s been four days since  the killing game started and you still haven’t done anything!” Yuya Fungami stops eating for a second before speaking in a faux innocent tone, “Why would we participate though? Killing is such a jarring thing to do.”

“Gh!” The creature seems to be taken aback by that statement and turns away, sulking for a little while until an idea strikes his mind, causing him to smile eerily. Josuke, however, doesn’t really care, only indulged in the food he’s eating. Maybe if they ignore whatever Cheap Trick says, then maybe they can win this game without sacrificing anybody. “F-Fine! If you won’t do shit about it, then I will give you  _ something. _ ” The way he said that had everyone suddenly stop moving their utensils and stop chewing on their food. Something in Cheap Trick’s voice implies that this is the end of their peaceful days. 

“After lunchtime, there will be another assembly in the gymnasium. Do not be late.” And with that, Cheap Trick gets up from the ground and leaves. Now, everyone has lost their appetite. Josuke swallows his food bitterly, taking a large sip of his glass of water before  choking it all down his throat; it’s suddenly really hard to breathe, why is he getting anxious all of a sudden? And he’s not the only one, too. As he looks at his classmates’ faces, even Rohan is showing visible signs of fear and anxiety and he knows that it’s not a good sign. Terunosuke has the same expression too. Just what was it that made then feel this way?

The walk to the gymnasium is strangely and unpleasantly quiet, like a group of people walking onto their death march--which kind of is, if you think about it. Josuke is aware that everyone, him including, is thinking of just one thing: the  _ something  _ Cheap Trick is about to give them. Even Akira isn’t talking and from the four days they’ve spent with each other, Josuke learned that Akira is annoyingly loud. He tries to calm his nerves, tries to tell himself there’s nothing to be scared of, Cheap Trick is just being tricky and stupid.

And not.

The moment they entered the gymnasium, they’re greeted by Cheap Trick and a large table with something on it. Upon getting closer, they realized the things on the table are memory cards, just about the size that could fit inside a cellphone. Each memory card has a name below it and Cheap Trick says, “These memory cards contain something valuable for you, not for me because I literally don’t  care about what’s inside that shit. Anyway, this is called a  _ motive.  _ In the four days you haven’t killed anyone, I realized what was missing: a  _ motive! _ ” He seems so happy about that realization, but everyone else is dreading for what’s inside. A motive for killing? A purpose to kill? Josuke swallows hard, his spit caught in his throat as he reaches for the memory card that has his name.

“Anyway, you insert it in your phone and watch the short video I’ve put up for you with all my love and passion!” Cheap Trick says and he disappears again, but his voice booms through the speakers, “I suggest watching it with earphones or something; wouldn’t want your enemies to learn your secret, right?” And then his laughter rings with a haunting tone, giving everyone shivers. Josuke looks to the side where Aya, Antonio, Shinobu, and Kira are standing: they’re all frozen in their spots, their hands shaking as they gaze at the micro-card on their palm. Everyone else has the same reaction, too, and he knows he holds it too.

* * *

Josuke decides to play it at night before he goes to bed. His room is painted simply, his bed has blue covers and pillow cases. Like Koichi had predicted, there is a surveillance camera at one corner of the room where everything else can be seen in one fish eye angle. It feels nerve-wracking to sleep with a camera watching him, but he doesn’t want to indulge in that matter, so oftentimes his sleeps on the side where he can’t see the camera. Taking out a set of earphones from the drawer, he inserts the mico-card on the slot. It redirects him to a folder in his phone with only one video in it, entitled, “Josuke Higashikata”. Despite his growing anxiety, he still clicks on the video nonetheless.

In the video, there’s a woman with neck-length hair, the same color as his own hair. She has the same eyes as his, too, and she gives off a vibe that he picks up to be motherly. Is this his mother? She looks so beautiful. Beside her is a man in about his 60s, wearing a police attire, and a smile on his face that can melt anyone’s heart. Josuke feels an odd sense of longing, like he knows these people personally and had been with them for years on end before ending up in here. 

_ “Do you love your son, Tomoko?”  _ A male voice from behind  the camera asks with a cheerful voice. This woman, Tomoko, seems to be a bit taken aback by the question before responding with a,  _ “Wh- of course! He’s my only son, Josuke… And despite his appearance, he is a really good kid. He helps me around and he supports me. Of course I love him.”  _ There’s a twist in his chest for a moment; he wants to see his mother again. He wants to go out of this place so he can meet and hug her. The video showcases his mother and his grandfather talking about him and showing his baby pictures and stuff, which is a kick of nostalgia to him. He really wants to be out of this place. 

However, at the three-minute mark of the video, a glitch happens, then the screen goes completely dark for about five seconds. Josuke is about to check the length of the video until an image of the couch torn and bloody is displayed on the screen. It’s only for a split second, but Josuke managed to see it. Then, through the silence is a blood-curdling scream of a woman behind the camera, begging and pleading for help and salvation. If Josuke listened closer, he can hear the knife stabbing through her flesh repeatedly. 

_ “J-Josuke--! W--What did you do to my Josuke!?”  _ He hears the woman scream, followed by a groan from her as well.  _ “Where is my son!? Give him back! G-Give--”  _ And then there’s silence. Josuke’s body is frozen solid, eyes watering as he concludes that whoever that person is, they had killed his mother. It’s silent for fifteen seconds until he hears footsteps drawing closer and closer to the camera, and then there’s silence again. What Josuke isn’t expecting however, is that the lifeless body of his mother would be thrown to the couch just right in front of the camera.

He nearly threw his phone away out of fear. He screamed, he cried, but in his room, this soundproof room, no one can hear him. No one can save him unless he does something to save himself. That night, Josuke is unable to sleep.


End file.
